


Anything

by sebviathan



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Friends With Benefits, M/M, Possibly Unrequited Love, Pre-Canon, chris traeger is the perfect man, sex to de-stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2014-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-22 11:02:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2505455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sebviathan/pseuds/sebviathan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben Wyatt is literally the most stressed-out person you'll ever meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anything

**Author's Note:**

> The world needs more Ben/Chris, honestly.

Ben Wyatt is literally the most stressed-out person you'll ever meet. Not just because of the work that he does, but everything he does to himself. He simply does not know how to relax, and he has spent so much time drowning in stress that the idea of relaxing is outside of his comfort zone.

Not many people can look at him and see what lies beneath. From first glance he does look like a hard-ass, yes, but most seem to think that he's simply just strict and hard-working. That he has a ten-foot pole up his ass. That he's all work and no play, that he's a jerk they would never want to spend too much time around.

Of course, they often change their minds once they get to know him, but first glances matter.

When he is assigned Chris Traeger as a partner, the man sees right through him and asks him if he's okay, says he seems a little stressed out. And his smile is so warm, so genuine that it's almost infuriating.

Ben tells him that he feels fine, and after a few days of knowing him Chris says that he's probably just  _so_  stressed all the time that he doesn't even know that he's stressed.

Chris Traeger is by no means the least stressed-out person you'll ever meet, but he knows how to handle it better than anyone. He is positive even when it isn't rational or helpful to be, and he is probably the only person on Earth who knows exactly how to deal with Ben. Everything he does or says to him, in fact, is to accommodate him and make him feel comfortable.

Chris notices the small things that actually do seem to make Ben happy (other than his work) and tries to recreate them. For all that he preaches health, he's willing to bake cookies for Ben the moment he hears him say how much he likes homemade cookies. When Ben seems to have been working nonstop for six hours, Chris insists that he take a break and come watch the new episode Game of Thrones with him—and Chris hasn't even watched past the first few episodes, but he's fine with spoilers if he can keep his friend from dying of stress.

Trying to avoid getting even the tiniest of crushes on a man like Chris is impossible, and Ben has always considered himself straight. But the positivity, and the genuine selflessness, and his determination to stay as healthy as possible... it gets him thinking about other things. Like his smile, and his hair, and his body, and ironically enough it adds some extra stress to working around him.

He has to deal with being simultaneously annoyed and infatuated over Chris's quirks, and he has to keep himself from looking, and he has to keep himself from having an internal debate over his sexuality, and worst of all he has to deal with the fact that he has no idea whether Chris is doing all these nice things because he feels the same or if this is simply how Chris is with everyone.

And all of that is before they even hit the road to go to their first town as budget advisors, which only makes things worse. More work, more stress, and more Chris. For weeks, there's barely more than twenty minutes where they're apart. Even when Ben's sorting through files outside of the government buildings, Chris is there and it's a hotel room so it's just beds and one small couch and a desk, and he can't even glance over without having bedroom thoughts.

So he picks the desk while Chris does work on the couch, and they sit in silence for at least an hour until Chris turns around to face him, sitting up on his heels, and says, "Ben Wyatt."

"Chris Traeger," he responds, looking up and trying not to smile. Chris does, though, when he says his name.

"You know what would really help you? A massage. The less tense your body is, the healthier you'll be in mind and spirit."

He's smiling, wide, like he's proud of himself for having this idea and like he's spent the last twenty minutes thinking about it. Like he's spent a lot of time thinking of what he can do for Ben to make him happier. And naturally not all of this registers to Ben at first, he simply sits there and responds,

"I don't need a stranger's hands on me, thanks."

"I could do it, and I'm not a stranger, am I?" he laughs. "Come sit over here and I'll massage your shoulders for you, ten minutes, you can get back to your work in no time at all."

Now, that's a different offer. Chris, right behind him, hands on his neck? It's not exactly the most physical contact from him that Ben can hope for—Chris is a very touchy-feely person. He gives a lot of hugs and occasionally kisses people on the cheek in celebration, and he doesn't even need to be drunk for it.

 _Why not_ , he figures. He could probably use it. "Alright, deal."

"That is literally the best thing I've heard from you, all day," Chris tells him, just  _so_  happy to help, and then, "Here, sit right in front of me."

They're sideways on the couch, Chris against the armrest and on his knees, and Ben criss-crossed and facing the wall. On top of everything else Chris seems to be an expert masseuse because Ben has to try not to moan from how great it feels. God dammit, he really is the perfect man.

"C-could you do this more often?" he eventually brings himself to say, turning his head just slightly. "With being on the road and doing these jobs and everything, I think... I think I could really benefit from semi-regular massages."

"Of course!" Chris sounds pleasantly surprised. Like he never expected Ben to admit he needs to de-stress. "I will do literally  _anything_  to help. I didn't even think it was possible to be as tense as you are."

"Yeah, well. You know. The job." Ben finds himself loosening up not just physically, but also emotionally under Chris's fingers. He lolls a bit from side to side, going wherever those hands drag his muscles, and exhales. "I'm kind of starving for physical affection, to be honest," he admits, speaking slowly.

"What about Carol-Lyn? Did you two break up?"

"Yeah. It's so hard to keep a solid relationship. And not just because of the job, but... no one wants to listen to a guy talk about Star Trek for too long, I guess."

Ben can't see Chris's face, but he can only assume that it's one of sympathy. And after a long pause, he gets the response—

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if the lack of affection is making it worse. It's actually proven that things like kissing and sex release hormones that make you happier and more mentally healthy."

"Hm. Want to make out with me for the sake of my mental health, then?"

He doesn't even mean to say it. It's a joke regardless. But without change of tone or pace, Chris stops massaging his shoulders and says, "Sure."

Ben would be sure that he was joking if he didn't stop the massage. He immediately tenses up again, now unsure of what to do.

"Um." He twists his body around to look at Chris. "Really?"

"Yeah. If it'll help you, why not?"

Something feels odd about this—like if Chris really doesn't have any kind of romantic interest in him, then he'll just be using him. But then what if he does feel that way? What if this leads to him admitting it? It couldn't hurt, really. And above everything else, Ben  _really_  wants to know what it's like to kiss him.

So he turns around and completely faces Chris, and then just stares. "How, um. How do you want to do this?"

"Well, I'd say it's your call. Are you nervous? You don't have to-"

"Just kiss me."

That doesn't seem to throw Chris off or make him think that Ben's been thinking about this for longer than the past minute, because when he does lean forward and kiss him it isn't awkward, it isn't even with urgency or want, it's just smooth and calm and happy exactly like how he does everything else.

It's soft. And it's all-encompassing. Ben's mouth is so much smaller and he feels like Chris is going to eat him whole even though his mouth is mostly closed still, and Chris's jaw is so solid that it knocks into his. And Ben feels  _amazing_.

Chris is smiling the whole time, he can feel it against his lips. He wants to bite those lips and for a moment he wonders if that would be pushing boundaries but then he remembers that they're already kissing anyway, so why not. He does, he nips at them and that's when Chris's mouth opens and he lifts a hand to hold Ben's jaw—then Ben kisses him deeper, firmer, the way he's wanted to for weeks.

They're like teenagers, leaning against the back of the couch and making out with hands in each other's hair. Chris is very enthusiastic and receptive, quickly figuring out that Ben likes his tongue sucked and then proceeding to keep doing  _just that_. And in spite of all of it, Ben still can't be sure whether Chris is interested or if he is just genuinely so nice that he would do something like this for his friend.

He did say that he would  _literally_  do anything, after all.

Eventually Chris slows down and pulls away, presumably to ask whether or not that was good and tell him he should probably get back to work. But with a single glance downward he notices that there's a bigger bulge in Ben's pants than usual, and he just smiles lazily.

"I can help you out with that," he says slowly, less in a  _I want to help you_  way and more in the sense that he's aroused himself. And Ben just nods, wondering if Chris will get on his knees and suck him off or carry him to the bed and fuck him silly (and right now the latter sounds really,  _really_  good), but instead he goes back to kissing him and unzips his pants right there.

The moment he wraps his hand around Ben's dick his mouth goes to Ben's neck, and he's almost sure that Chris is doing this on purpose, that he wants to hear him moan and gasp and he wants to see if his name is anywhere in the mix (and it is, because Ben can't help it when he comes).

Afterward, when he's zipped back up and both of them are sitting up straight again, Ben has no idea what to say other than "...Chris Traeger."

At which the man in question grins and says his full name back to him.

"Do you, uh, have...?"

"Oh, um, no, actually. I'm incredibly resistant to arousal when I want to be, and I didn't think it would help you to feel obligated to—"

"I wouldn't have minded," he says as-a-matter-of-factly, vaguely trying to make his attraction obvious. But Chris still somehow takes it platonically and thanks him for the sentiment, saying he'd probably like to get back to work now. Which he does. But he'd also like to figure out if they're in some kind of pseudo-romantic territory or just—

"Friends with benefits."

"Hm?" Chris looks up at him from the work he's just resumed, and Ben figures now that if Chris has any indication that this is something serious, he'll say so.

"Can we do that? Be friends with benefits. As a regular thing, I mean. I think it would help both of us."

Naturally, what he gets in return is "Of course" and a promise to do  _anything_. So Ben resigns himself to the reality that he probably won't get anywhere romantically with this man, but at least he'll be getting fucked on a regular basis.

He takes one last wistful look at Chris before turning his full attention back to a stack of papers. And he wishes he had the courage to fucking say something to make his feelings clear.


End file.
